Thursday Bolts – 7.12.12

Eric Freeman of BDL on Hakeem working with Ibaka: “It makes total sense that Brooks would support this team-up, and if Ibaka can carve out time in his busy schedule a meeting would undoubtedly be a great idea. Ibaka is a young player with an expanding offensive game, but he typically scores on mid-range jumpers and catches at the rim. A post game would make him a truly fearsome option and give the Thunder an added dimension in an already great offense.”

Darnell Mayberry: “It was a mixed bag for Aldrich today. He had a horrible start but picked it up and finished incredibly well. Drummond was having his way with Aldrich at the start, and Aldrich didn’t do himself any favors by fouling the Pistons’ big man early on and giving him some early confidence. But even while Aldrich was struggling on both ends, he continued to rebound well, which should be encouraging. He got some garbage-time buckets, scoring eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter to go with his team-high seven rebounds.”

Lazar Hayward in a Q&A: “With me not getting a lot of time this past season, I felt that it would be a good idea for me to come out here and get some competitive run in. And a lot of the guys that are out here can play. I just love to play. I don’t mind. Just because it’s summer league doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. So anytime I can come in and get some competitive minutes I’ll do that.”

Mike Prada of SB Nation on why the max contract must die: “That’s why I wish the NBA would stop over-regulating player salaries. In the economic world, the max contract is akin to a price ceiling, the kind you often see when you’re trying to rent an apartment. Many areas have a maximum price for the rent a landlord can charge for an apartment, with the theory being that this is the only way to promote “fair business practices.” However, while there’s not one building owner jacking up the price for their tenants, there are also a bunch of apartments that aren’t as nice that become more expensive simply because of “location.” Not everyone can live in the nicest building with a capped price, so more people are forced to settle for living in buildings that aren’t as nice, but still carry the inflated price tag landlords can charge. The demand at the regulated price therefore exceeds the supply.”

Tom Ziller of SB Nation on Westbrook: “What Russ showed in Turkey is what he’ll show in London and everywhere, forever: he knows his role on the court at all times, and at all times, that role is to make stuff happen. And really, isn’t that the point of a point? To make sure that stuff happens? There’s a difference between “doing stuff” and “making stuff happen” — the latter opens the floor to multiple weapons, while the former (a Stephon Marbury specialty) leaves the attack monodimensional. Monodimensionality and Team USA don’t really fit. USA Basketball’s power is in its depth of talent, its weakness is its lack of communal experience (i.e. two weeks of training camp vs. lifetimes of playing with each other for most nations). “Doing stuff” wastes the depth of Team USA. “Making stuff happen” plays to the strength. That’s why Westbrook will be so valuable in London.”